A cataclysmic bit of scheduling news broke the collective internet when, this afternoon, Deadline revealed that Paramount will push G.I. Joe: Retaliation back a whole nine months, shifting its release from June 29th to March 29th, 2013. It’s a drastic enough move as is, but such a decision is even more surprising when you look at your own calendar and realize, “Oh, wait a second, this was only a month away.”

Said decision is being pegged on a 3D post-conversion — one that, while not entirely bizarre in this day and age, doesn’t quite add up. For those like myself who can’t think outside the box, BadassDigest laid the whole thing out pretty clearly: The film is probably terrible and needs extensive reshoots, but some kind of mild box office inflation could be attained with the move. There are some explanatory bits from Deadline, saying how Shutter Island being a big hit when it opened in February — or, in a more similar instance, The Hunger Games sweeping the box office in March — made it a logical step, but moving it from a pretty prime spot this late in the game can’t be taken as anything but desperation.

But one studio’s desperation is another’s financial opportunity. THR has learned that, with this shift, Universal will now release Seth MacFarlane‘s Ted on June 29th, thus moving it up two weeks from the original slot of July 13th. It’s a perfectly logical choice; their only real competition on that day is the other Channing Tatum picture, Magic Mike — which isn’t even going for the same crowd — and they get to avoid Ice Age: Continental Drift, a movie that was almost bound to win the original weekend. (Unless The Amazing Spider-Man proves to be a juggernaut, that is.) They’re also getting some July 4th time and, I might add, the little film that hits on July 20th is no longer of any concern.

I’m still not seeing it, though.

Are you disappointed or surprised by the G.I. Joe jump? Will Ted fare better a bit earlier in the summer?